I am a professor in Development and Resource Economics in the School of Economics and Business at Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Ås, Norway. I am also an active member of the new Centre for Land Tenure Studies in our university that was established in 2011 and is a collaboration between four of our Departments.

I do much of my research in close collaboration with my current and ex- PhD-students. Most of our PhD-students have been from developing countries. I view this collaboration and investment in capacity-building as my most important contribution to development. At the same time we are required to publish internationally and that is also a very important way of disseminating information about our research and ensuring that we do good quality work.

Holden, S. T. and Bezu, S. (2016). Preferences for land sales legalization and land values in Ethiopia. Land Use Policy 52: 410-421.Link

Bezabih, M., Holden, S. T. and Mannberg, A. (2016). The Role of Land Certification in Reducing Gaps in Productivity between Male- and Female-Owned Farms in Rural Ethiopia. Journal of Development Studies 52(3): 360–376.Link

Holden, S. T. and M. Tilahun (2016). Youth as Environmental Custodians: A Potential Tragedy or A Sustainable Business and Livelihood Model? CLTS Working Paper No. 6/2016. Centre for Land Tenure Studies, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Aas, Norway. Link

Bezu, S. and Holden, S. T. (2015). Street based self-employment: A poverty trap or a stepping stone for migrant youth in Africa? CLTS Working Paper No. 4/2015. Centre for Land Tenure Studies, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Aas, Norway. Link

Bezu, Sosina and Stein T. Holden (2015). Generosity and sharing among villagers:Do women give more? School of Economics and Business. Working Paper No. 4/2015. Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Aas, Norway. Link

Holden, Stein T. and Christopher J. O’Donnell (2015). Maize Productivity and Input Subsidies in Malawi: A State-Contingent Stochastic Production Frontier Approach. School of Economics and Business Working Paper No. 2/2015. Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Aas, Norway. Link

Presentations:

Holden, Stein "Tools, fertilizer or cash? Exchange Asymmetries in Productive Assets" Paper With Sosina Bezu presented at School of Economics, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, 21st January 2015.Link

Invited seminar with title "Policies for Improved Food Security in Africa: What can we learn from farm household studies in Malawi and Ethiopia?" with Thilak Mallawaarachchi (UQ) at Department of Agriculture National Conference Centre, Canberra, Australia, arranged by the Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, 18. November 2014.

Invited keynote with title "Experiences with Input Subsidies in Malawi" at the Pathways for the Sustainable Intensification of Agriculture Workshop, at the Global Change Institute, University of Queensland (UQ), St Lucia Campus, Brisbane, 3-5. November 2014.

Invited seminar with title: "Joint Land Certification, Gendered Preferences, and Land-related Decisions: Are Wives Getting More Involved?" at Queensland University of Technology (QUT), School of Economics and Finance, Brisbane, QLD, Australia, 16. October 2014.

Invited presentation at the CGIAR Independent Science and Partnership Council International Workshop "Measuring the Poverty Impacts of Agricultural Research" on July 26, 2014, at Ruttan Hall, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis: "Agricultural Household Models and Heterogeneity: Exploring Input Subsidy Impacts in Malawi" By Stein Holden

Holden, S. T. and Bezu, S. (2014). Land Valuation and Perceptions of Land Sales Prohibition in Ethiopia. CLTS Working Paper No. 12/2014. Centre for Land Tenure Studies, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Aas, Norway. Link

Holden, S. T. and Bezu, S. (2014). Are Wives less Selfish than their Husbands? Evidence from Hawk-Dove Game Field Experiments. CLTS Working Paper No. 3/2014. Centre for Land Tenure Studies, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Ås, Norway. Link

Holden, Stein T. and Keijiro Otsuka (2013). The Roles of Land Tenure Reforms and Land Markets in the Context of Population Growth and Land Use Intensification in Africa. CLTS Working Paper No. 15/2013. Centre for Land Tenure Studies, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Ås, Norway. Paper accepted for publication in Food Policy. Link

Holden, Stein T. (2013). High discount rates: - An artifact caused by poorly framed experiments or a result of people being poor and vulnerable? CLTS Working Paper No. 8/2013. Centre for Land Tenure Studies, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Ås, Norway. Paper presented at 8th Nordic Conference on Behavioral and Experimental Economics in Stockholm, September 27‐28th, and the 2013 Symposium on Economic Experiments in Developing Countries (SEEDEC) held from December 5-6, 2013, at the Norwegian School of Economics, Bergen, Norway. Link

Holden, Stein T. and Julius Mangisoni (2013). Input subsidies and improved maize varieties in Malawi: - What can we learn from the impacts in a drought year? CLTS Working Paper No. 7/2013. Centre for Land Tenure Studies, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Ås, Norway. Link

Bezu, Sosina and Stein T. Holden (2013). Unbundling Land Administrative Reform: Demand for Second Stage Land Certification in Ethiopia. CLTS Working Paper No. 3/2013. Centre for Land Tenure Studies, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Ås, Norway. Link

Bezu, Sosina and Stein T. Holden (2013). Generosity and social distance in dictator game field experiments with and without a face. CLTS Working Paper No. 1/2013. Centre for Land Tenure Studies, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Ås, Norway. Link

Presentation at the international workshop "Evaluating the Impact of Tenure Security Interventions in Developing Countries" at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Washington, DC, on November 2nd, 2012: "Links between Tenure Security and Food Security: Evidence from Ethiopia." Link

The paper "The Role of Land Certification in Reducing Gender Gaps in Productivity in Rural Ethiopia" written by Mintewab Bezabih, Stein T. Holden and Andrea Mannberg, was given the "Uma Lele’s Award to Best Contributed Paper on Gender" at the International Conference of Agricultural Economists (IAAE), "The Global Bio-Economy" at Iguassu Falls, Cataratas, Brazil, August 18-24, 2012. Link

I am involved in the research project "Measuring the Poverty and Food Security Impacts of Improved Maize in Africa: A Combined Econometric and Micro-Economywide Modeling Approach" in collaboration with CIMMYT, Michigan State University, University of Malawi and University of Zambia. The project is funded by the Gates Foundation under the CGIAR Standing Panel on Impact Assessment. The project period was 2011-2013.

We arranged an international Land Tenure Reform book workshop on May 29-30, 2012, at Jevnaker, Norway. I am co-editing the book with professor Keijiro Otsuka, Tokyo, and lead economist Klaus Deininger, The World Bank. Program for the workshop

Holden, S. T. and Lunduka, R. (2010). Too Poor to be Efficient? Impacts of the Targeted Fertilizer Subsidy Program in Malawi on Farm Plot Level Input Use, Crop Choice and Land Productivity. Report to NORAD. Department of Economics and Resource Management, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Ås.

Holden, S. T. and Lunduka, R. (2010). Impacts of the fertilizer subsidy program in Malawi: Targeting, household perceptions and preferences. Report to NORAD. Department of Economics and Resource Management, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Ås. Link to paper. Link to blog briefs.

Holden, S. T. and Lunduka, R. (2010). Yara, the Fertilizer Industry and the Impacts on Small Farmers in Malawi. Understanding the Issues 1/2010. Norwegian Church Aid, Lilongwe and Oslo. Link

Holden, S. T. and Bezabih, M. (2008). Gender and Land Productivity on Rented Out Land: Evidence from Ethiopia. In Holden, S. T., Otsuka, K. and Place, F. (Eds.). The Emergence of Land Markets in Africa: Impacts on Poverty and Efficiency. Resources For the Future Press, Washington D.C. Link